I’m Coming Home | An all-time great from Diddy and Skylar Grey

I’m Coming Home was written by Diddy, Jay-Z, Alex da Kid, and Skylar Grey. That can only be described as an awesome combination; Diddy and Jay-Z’s clever lyrics match with Alex da Kid’s signature haunting heavy beats and triumphant & uplifting chorus, with Skylar’s effortlessly smooth delivery. Alex da Kid is the same producer who brought us the stunning I Need a Doctor by Dr Dre, and Lupe Fiasco’s Words I Never Said (both of which also feature Skylar Grey’s vocals), and this track screams out his familiar style. Diddy takes us through his own shortcomings and concerns; the third verse is incredibly moving, and also features some of my favourite lines in rap:

“Forgave me for all of my shortcomings
Welcome to my homecoming
Yeah it’s been a long time coming
Lot of fights, lot of scars, lot of bottles
Lot of cars, lot of ups, lot of downs
Made it back, lost my dog (I miss you BIG)
And here I stand, a better man!”

Each verse builds up and draws you into Skylar’s stunning chorus, and you just want the song to go on and on. 

Pacific Wind | ‘Positive Chillout’ 

Ryan Farish creates a lot of great music, mainly a mix of electronic, jazz, and world. Pacific Wind from the album From the Sky is probably my favourite track of his; it features some elegant traditional piano, with some electronic going on in the background, and some lovely vocals in the chorus. You can easily chill out to ambient, but Farish’s electronic is a different and altogether unique type of chill out music, because it’s peacefully uplifting. You have to listen to a few tracks to get what I mean, so sit back and enjoy this stunning track. 

The Jackson Pit | Sweet remix by Xaphoon Jones

I downloaded Xaphoon Jones’ Mixtape Volume 2 recently, due to a link someone posted on Twitter. Track 11, The Jackson Pit, caught my ear with its fantastically soulful and energetic beat. It’s a remix of a Jackson 5 song, and best of all, it’s free! Just listen to it… 

E.T (feat. Kanye West) | Messed up fantasy 

I usually skip on Katy Perry, but I heard this song on the radio and the weirdness of it caught my ear. The song is a haunting and pretty chilling trip through someone’s fantasies with their lover; Kanye drops some pretty sly innuendo, too. Extraterrestrial is the perfect name for the song, as it’s unlike anything else you’ve heard. The lyrics and beat are truly fucked up, and I love it. 

The Ending | More Ambient Mastery from the father of Ambient, Brian Eno

The Ending, or An Ending, is from an obscure Eno album entitled Music to Evoke a Sense of Impending Doom. That’s all I really need to say in order for you to understand the mood that this piece evokes; you feel like you’re at the end of something, and it feels very ‘retrospective’, if it’s possible for a song to be that. I don’t quite think this matches up to the simplistic mastery of Music for Airports, but it certainly an incredible ambient piece. Half way through, it really sends shivers down your spine. 

Blast From The Past | Akon - Freedom 

I got this album in late 2008 when it was first released, and although Akon isn’t the world’s most talented lyricist, he can certainly get some catchy tunes out there. Freedom, the final track of the album and the track after which the album is named, is a thought-provoking journey through Akon and his family’s struggles. He talks about racism, poverty, discrimination, and war; the lyrics speak for themselves, and above all, it’s a truly uplifting ending to one of the finest R&B albums ever released. I’ll leave you to listen to the song, and with one of my favourite verses of all time:

As a kid, I never knew
I’d have to hustle just to make it through
So I found myself skippin’ school
‘Cause the girls don’t think I’m cool
And because of that, I didn’t care
Whether or not I went to jail